Hogwarts Holidays
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: In the summer after Harry's fourth Hogwarts year, Harry and the twins spend their holidays in hiding at Hogwarts with Dobby and a portrait as their allies. Will the accident-prone students survive? Completely AU, de-aging, maybe partly sick!Harry.
1. The Plan

**Hogwarts Holidays**  
><strong>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_All recognizable characters from Harry Potter belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
>I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>1 - The Plan<strong>

Harry Potter was devastated. Only because of him had Cedric died and Voldemort had been resurrected. _'Maybe I could have prevented both if I'd studied more,'_ he thought, horrified at the recent happenings. Every night, he was plagued by nightmares, and it was only because he was proficient at silencing spells that his roommates did not at least verbally kill him every morning.

One evening, he was sitting in the common room next to his friends, deep in thoughts. "I'm not going to return to the Dursleys," he decided. "Since I'm not able to cast a silencing spell there, Uncle Vernon would beat me every night if not worse, that's for sure. I'm going to remain in some unused part of Hogwarts. Dobby will surely help me and provide me with some food during this time."

"Harrykins..."

"... Are you sure..."

"... that you're going to pull such a stunt?" the twins suddenly asked, sitting on both sides of him.

Only now did Harry realise that he was sitting alone on the sofa, while his friends had moved to one of the tables and were engrossed in their homework.

"What stunt?" he asked in confusion, only realising by the twins' replies that he had thought aloud.

"Would you mind..."

"... if we stayed with you?" the twins then queried.

"We'd like to open a joke shop after finishing Hogwarts..."

"... but to do that, we have to brew some stock and also earn some money first..."

"... but unfortunately, our mother doesn't want us to do such a thing..."

"... so it would be great if we could tell her we were together with you and would just remain at Hogwarts."

"I can give you the money for your shop," Harry replied, "That's not a problem. But still, I'd be happy if you stayed with me. As to the brewing of potions," he added, thoughtfully, "we can ask Dobby to find an adequate room for us far away from the used corridors and equip it with a potions lab."

The twins stared at the boy in pure amazement, before they exchanged a delighted look and shouted, simultaneously, "Yes, that's it."

HP

After the last afternoon class on the following day, which was also the last day of classes, Harry and the twins met in an alcove, to where Harry called Dobby and told him of their plan.

"Dobby, will you help us?" he asked, uncertainly.

Dobby cast him a broad smile. "Of course Dobby wills helps Harry Potter and his great friends. Dobby wills looks for a room for yous to stay."

"Thank you Dobby," Harry said in relief and told the elf that they would board the Hogwarts Express as usually and then return to Hogwarts. "We'll call you as soon as we're back."

Dobby agreed and promised to prepare everything for the three friends, so that they could spend their holidays in an adequate room with an adjacent potions lab within the unused part of the castle, as far away from the teachers' scope of action.

HP

During the evening, the three friends had to try hard to keep their excitement at bay, and when Harry replied on Hermione's question why he was so agitated that he was looking forward to meeting the Dursleys, the twins blurted out laughing. Luckily, their good mood was contagious, so that no one else noticed that Harry seemed happier on this evening as he was supposed to be.

Even when he went to bed, late in the evening, Harry was still very excited. _'This is going to be my first real stunt, but at least the twins will be with me,'_ he thought, feeling very much relieved at the idea of the two older wizards' company. _'I just hope Dumbledore won't get to know that I didn't return to the Dursleys,'_ he thought, although he knew better than to wonder if the Dursleys might tell anyone about his absence.

The idea _'We should tell Hermione and Ron about it'_ crossed his mind, however, he dismissed it immediately. _'The less people know about it the better,'_ he decided, as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

_tbc... (?)_


	2. The Stunt

**Hogwarts Holidays**  
><strong>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_Please refer to the disclaimer and warnings in chapter 1._

* * *

><p><strong>2 - The Stunt<strong>

In the morning, Harry and the twins boarded the carriages together with everyone else, their trunks shrunken in their robe pockets. They had decided to not sit together on the Hogwarts Express, even if they had previously done so, in order to not attract any unnecessary attention.

To Harry, the train travel seemed to last even longer than usually. Not wanting Hermione to notice how excited he was, knowing how observing his friend was, he pretended to be tired and kept his eyes closed most of the travel. It was not even a lie. Due to the nightmares that had been bothering him ever since his unwilling visit to a certain graveyard, he was very much sleep deprived. However, sleep did not come easily, and his thoughts went haywire, from the graveyard to Voldemort, to the summer holidays at Hogwarts and back to Voldemort. When he finally drifted off to sleep, he woke up, shouting, "Cedric! Nooo."

"Harry," Hermione said, urgently, shaking his arm. "Wake up, Harry. It's only a nightmare."

"Thanks, 'm sorry," Harry mumbled, sighing.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Hermione said, gently, observing him with apparent concern, while Ron excused himself to go and search for his brothers to ask if anyone had some money for a chocolate frog.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, giving him a sharp look. "Since last night, you're somehow different. You seem very excited. Will you tell me what happened, please?" she asked, urgently.

Harry let out a long sigh, thinking that his friend was too clever for her own good. "Don't tell Ron or anyone else," he instructed the girl, who rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance, before he told her about his and the twins' plan.

"Oh Harry, that's great," Hermione said, smiling. "But please be careful, don't do any nonsense..." She interrupted herself, when Ron returned to the compartment, holding the package of a chocolate frog in his hand.

HP

Finally, they reached King's Cross, and Harry left the train together with his friends. Everyone greeted the Weasleys, who were waiting right on platform nine and three quarters, where the twins told them that they were going to stay with a friend over the summer.

Assuming that they were going to stay with Lee Jordan, Mrs. Weasley did not question the twins but merely instructed them to send her an owl at least twice a week.

"We'll do," the twins replied, simultaneously, before they headed towards the exit, closely followed by Harry and Hermione.

Shortly before reaching the wall to the Muggle platform, Harry threw the invisibility cloak over the twins and himself and whispered a good-bye to Hermione.

"We need to buy tickets before we can board the train to travel back," Harry whispered to the redheads, who stared at him, chuckling.

"No Harrykins..."

"... We're going to apparate," they informed him and instructed him, "Hold on tightly."

The three friends firmly held each other's hands, and the twins apparated all three of them back to Hogsmeade.

"Harry, do you have an Animagus form?" Fred suddenly asked.

"Yes, I'm a magical lynx," Harry replied in understanding. "Maybe we should transform into our Animagus forms, before we return to Hogwarts," he added, knowing that the twins were kneazle cats.

Making sure that no one could see them, Harry pocketed the invisibility cloak, and the three friends changed into their feline forms, glad that they could communicate with each other due to the similarity of their Animagus forms.

HP

Unbeknownst to the three pranksters, as soon as they crossed the Hogwarts boundaries, an alarm went off in the headmaster's office.

"Albus, what's that sound?" McGonagall queried with a combination of surprise and concern.

Dumbledore stepped in front of the shelf, on which the Sorting Hat was residing, and examined one of the devices. "The wards around Harry's home are coming down. I wonder what happened," he said, slight concern sounding in his voice.

"Maybe his uncle is abusing him again," McGonagall replied, angrily. "Why do you have to send the sweet child back there in spite of knowing that he's neglected and abused there? I told you..."

"Minerva, I know what I'm doing, and it's necessary that he returns there," Dumbledore interrupted her in a voice that forbade any contradiction. "I'm sure Harry will be fine as he was every year," he added, soothingly.

HP

In the meantime, Dobby had popped the boy in question and his friends to a comfortable looking holiday apartment at the far edge of the castle. It consisted of a small living room with comfortable chairs and a table, a bedroom with three beds, a small office with three desks and the portrait of a kind looking, old witch overseeing the room as well as an adjacent potions lab.

The three friends explored the rooms in absolute amazement. "Dobby, these rooms are just gorgeous. Thank you so much for doing this for us," Harry said to the elf, who happily smiled.

"Dinner wills be up in the living room in a minute," he informed them and popped away, a mere instant, before the meal appeared on the table.

Feeling famished after the long travel, Harry and the twins enjoyed their dinner that the elves had prepared for them, before they continued exploring their surroundings.

"The ingredients shelves are self refilling I think," Harry thought aloud, as he eyed the ingredients shelves and tentatively took out a few berries, which were replaced immediately.

"Great!"

"Cool," the twins said in excitement.

"Now let's see..."

"... who the witch in the portrait is..."

"... Maybe we need to get rid of her..."

"... before she gives us out to Dumbledore or McGonagall," they added and left the lab.

Harry swiftly followed Fred and George, who stepped right in front of the portrait and introduced all three of them.

"Hello boys," the old witch replied in a gentle voice. "I'm happy to see that this office is going to be used again after such a long time. I'm Ceridwen Hufflepuff, Helga Hufflepuff's younger sister. I trust that you have heard of her?" she queried, giving the boys a sharp look.

"Of course, Madame..."

"... she was one of the founders of Hogwarts," the twins beat Harry to a reply.

"That's true, and please just call me Ceridwen," the old witch replied in a soft voice.

"I've heard of you too I think," Harry spoke up in a small voice. "Aren't you the founder of the magical hospital in Hogsmeade? I think I read that somewhere."

"Exactly," Ceridwen confirmed, smiling.

"Err, Ceridwen," Harry added, slightly hesitating, "would you please not tell anyone about our presence here?"

"I won't. Dobby told me everything," Ceridwen informed him. "He asked me to keep an eye on you. Therefore, I'd like to ask you to leave all doors open at any time."

Turning around, Harry noticed that from this point of the office it was possible to look into each of the rooms of their quarters. _'Magic,'_ he thought in understanding. He inwardly rolled his eyes, wondering why everyone had to be so protective. _'At least Ceridwen seems very nice though,'_ he thought.

HP

In the morning, Harry sent Dobby out to buy the fifth year school books for himself and the seventh year books for the twins, so that they could not only do their summer assignments but also read ahead in their books. _'We can't brew potions all around the clock,'_ he thought, inwardly groaning at the idea.

"Let's sit in the office and study every morning..."

"... and then head to the lab and brew in the afternoon," the twins suggested, and Harry agreed full heartedly.

_'That way I'll be prepared for once,'_ he thought, as he followed the twins into the lab to assist with their first prank potion.

HP

The first week passed uneventfully. The twins had brought a whole book full of prank potions, which they wanted to try out or to brew on a larger scale for sale in their future joke shop. They also used the opportunity to teach Harry how to properly brew, so that he would perhaps be good enough to assist with their brewing.

However, just a week after the beginning of the holidays, on a Saturday evening, Harry was suddenly pulled into a vision.

**_Beginning of vision_**

Harry found himself in an old stone room. Voldemort was sitting on what seemed to be a throne, and six men in black robes and black hoods were kneeling in front of him.

"Stand up," Voldemort hissed, before he began to speak in a monotone voice. "When I was resurrected, I received Potter's blood. Therefore, the blood wards that the old fool has placed around his Muggle relatives' residence will let me through. I'm going to go and kill the boy."

The Death Eaters cheered and spoke all at the same time, before Voldemort hissed, "Quiet! Malfoy and Snape, come here."

The two tallest of his followers stepped forward. "You'll come with me. Let's go right away."

**_End of vision_**

With that, Harry found himself back in his bed. Holding his head in agony, he let out a small moan.

"Harry..."

"... are you all right?" the twins queried, their voices laced with concern.

"Had a vision, Voldemort's going to the Dursleys' to kill me," Harry mumbled, pressing his hand against his aching forehead.

"Are you all right?..."

"... Shall we call Dobby?" the twins asked.

"No, just let me sleep," Harry moaned, before a thought shot through his mind. "Can he find me here?"

"No dear," Ceridwen replied from her portrait in the office. "Only the three of you and the Hogwarts elves are able to access my old rooms. You're completely safe here."

Slightly consoled, Harry lay down and tried to sleep in spite of the pain in his scar that still continued. Just an instant later, he was pulled into the next vision. It was the most horrible nightmare that he had ever seen. Totally enraged, because he could not find Harry, Voldemort killed the boy's aunt, uncle and cousin, before he turned to Snape and questioned him about Harry's whereabouts, casting a spell at the professor when he could not answer his question.

Harry opened his eyes, almost panicking. Quickly turning his achy head to the side, he vomited all over the floor, before he lay back, fighting the tears that welled in his eyes.

"He killed the Dursleys, because he couldn't find me," he informed the twins, who were kind enough to cast a cleaning spell at the floor and place a cold cloth on his burning forehead.

"Do you need Madam Pomfrey?..."

"... or shall we call Dobby?" the twins asked in concern.

"Not Pomfrey, she'd tell Dumbledore," Harry moaned. "Maybe Dobby."

Before the boys could call the elf, Ceridwen spoke up from her portrait. "Harry, can you get up and come here for a moment please? Let me quickly check on you."

"Can you cast spells from your portrait?" the twins queried in apparent surprise, when they gently helped Harry into the office.

"Yes, if I can tap into the magic of those in the room," Ceridwen replied, before she waved her hand over Harry multiple times. "I'm sorry, but I don't recognise the spell that was cast at him. Please call Misty, Madam Pomfrey's elf. She's also the healer of the elves and will be able to help Harry."

"Won't she give us out to Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked, frightened. "It's all right, I'll be fine."

"No, you're not," Ceridwen insisted, observing the boy's shaking limbs.

HP

"You're suffering from the after effects of the Cruciatus curse," Misty diagnosed. "I'll go and fetch a potion for you." She popped away and returned an instant later, making Harry drink from a small phial.

"Ah, that's much better," Harry said, gratefully. "Thank you so much, and could you please not tell anyone that we're here?"

"I'll keep your secret," Misty replied, glaring at the boys. "Be careful not to get into trouble."

"We won't," the three boys promised, simultaneously, although they should soon realise that it was easier said than done.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews!  
>Please note that I am not able to update<em>_ this story on a daily basis, as I am currently posting a daily page story on teddylonglong "Sorting to Hogwarts"._


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